Evening Standard court reporter Paul Cheston honoured on his final day at the Old Bailey by top judge

The Old Bailey's most senior judge today honoured The Evening Standard's own veteran court reporter on his final day ahead of retirement.

Since joining the paper in 1988, Paul Cheston has covered some of the UK's biggest court stories including the Soham murders, James Bulger killing and Jeffrey Archer trial.

He is hanging up his notepad after 23 years working at the Old Bailey.

In open court today in front of a gallery packed with senior judges, barristers and news reporters, the Recorder of London, Nicholas Hilliard QC thanked Mr Cheston, 59, for his "commitment to open justice" and said he was an "exemplar" for court reporting.

He said: "Any court, particularly the Old Bailey, is dependent on so many people if we are to function at our best and the press have a particularly important role to play to let the public know what is going on and bear the responsibility to ensure it is fair and accurate.

"No one has delivered that better than Paul."

In a speech delivered at a valedictory ceremony at the Old Bailey, Mr Cheston said: "This is an astonishing honour and a great privilege for a simple newspaperman.

"In fact it is probably my proudest achievement since I was 21 and passed the 100 words per minute shorthand exam - and I had to cheat to do that.

"I must confess to some trepidation today as the last time I stood before a judge in these courts was to be seriously dressed down by a judge who is now in high office in another part of the court system. He was very angry that the Evening Standard had broken some court order.

"In my defence I should say that it was a story that I had neither written nor knew anything about. Then I made the mistake of trying to tell him so. As the judicial storm crashed around my head, I did think: I don’t really deserve this."

Barrister Brian Altman QC added: "I cannot think of this place without you being around, notebook and pen in hand, asking for the lowdown on a case about to be opened to the jury and hoping you would get your headline before the 12 o'clock deadline. This is your West End final."

Addressing the court earlier, Mr Cheston said: ""What happens in Her Majesty's courts and in Her Majesty's name should be of paramount importance to everyone in the land.

"Not only in legal and penal terms but in news values and - it just happens to be - cracking everyday drama.

"But only my paper and the Financial Times have a specialist court reporter. Partly I fear because they are expensive to train and difficult to find someone with what used to be basic skills - a grasp of the law and fast shorthand."

He told the lawyers that thankfully there were still a number of "highly talented" agency reporters at the court.

He took the opportunity to appeal for the return of the most important cases to the Old Bailey so its "great judges" were not hearing "comparative trivia".

He said: "I have nothing against other courts but only the Old Bailey has the full weight and majesty of the law. It is the most famous court in the world and that should be reflected in the trials that take place here."

Mr Cheston began his career on the Diss Express and worked at the Press Association from 1982 before joining the Evening Standard in 1988 and becoming its specialist court reporter in 1993.